Illini Golfers in the Pros

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#203      
New Creation
Dan said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1888719304633561240
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Celebration Win GIF by Fighting Illini Athletics
 
#206      
2X2L
Thomas is 32 already? I don't believe it. A wife, two kids? C'mon. Get outta here.

Seems like only yesterday I met him and watched him play at Rich Harvest Farms Palmer Cup. Only yesterday was 2015! Slow down, Father Time.

What a performance this weekend. Beautiful swing. Clutch (secret to winning). Glad I recorded the final round.

Congratulatons.

Looks like Thomas will be playing more PGA Tour events.

Loved message to Tom from coach and Illini.

Go Illini!
 
#207      
DRS
that certainly was a classy round of golf. Didn't have his A game for stretches, all the pressure in the world, finishing one of these off after years of flirting with it. Job well done! This is career defining and lets hope is a springboard to a great stretch of golf.

Several times today he had short game gut check moments and through some excellent chipping and key putts he never even hinted that he was gonna falter. The was a Pro display.
 
#208      
DRS
FlyNavy said:
A few lost status last year. Here's the list of full exemptions as I know it:

Detry, Hardy, Campbell - PGA Tour (only Detry has access to Signature Events)
Guthrie - KFT
Stricker - Champions Tour
Pieters - LIV and DP World Tour
ADC - DP World Tour
Besard - DP World Challenge Tour

While it's getting overshadowed, ADC had a solid weekend, finishing tied for 8th in Qatar.
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The LIV simply doesn't count for me, but I do see Pieters listed on the DP, hasn't played for 3 years or so. What type of exemption do LIV players have or is that some sort of winners exemption but he isn't playing the tour at all, right? or do LIV players play some events? As a massive life long golf fan if you go to LIV you are completely lost to me until the majors. Like I have zero idea what is going on over and the few times I've tuned in it has looked like the silly season.

Completely forgot that Besard is on the Challenge. Good luck him.

somebody mentioned Feags, anybody know if he has status anywhere?
 
#210      
FlyNavy
Here's what the win got for Detry:

- $1,656,000
- Fully exempt in the PGA Tour through 2027
- Entry into next year's Sentry Tournament in Maui
- Climbed to #2 in the Fedex Cup standings
- Climbed from 58th to 22nd in the world rankings
- Climbed to #5 in the Ryder Cup standings for Team Europe

He was already exempt for the first two majors (Masters and PGA Championship). While the win doesn't directly put him in the US Open and the Open, he'll qualify as long as he remains inside the top 50 in May/June when they fill the fields. He also has a great chance to get to the Tour Championship and the Ryder Cup if he keeps playing well.

Thomas will be back in action this week at the Genesis Invitational, which was relocated to Torrey Pines due to the wildfires. It is a no-cut Signature Event.
 
#212      
2X2L
FIne coverage of Thomas and mention of Illini Belgians on Golf Channel's Golf Today.

Interesting: Justin Thomas and our Thomas go way back to 2010 Junior Ryder Cup. Then NCAA Championship in 2013. Detry lost his match; Thomas lost his match to another Thomas - Thomas Pieters, Illini's lone point.

According to wiki.
 
#213      
FlyNavy
DRS said:
The LIV simply doesn't count for me, but I do see Pieters listed on the DP, hasn't played for 3 years or so. What type of exemption do LIV players have or is that some sort of winners exemption but he isn't playing the tour at all, right? or do LIV players play some events? As a massive life long golf fan if you go to LIV you are completely lost to me until the majors. Like I have zero idea what is going on over and the few times I've tuned in it has looked like the silly season.

Completely forgot that Besard is on the Challenge. Good luck him.

somebody mentioned Feags, anybody know if he has status anywhere?
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I did a little digging on some of these guys - btw the OWGR website is a fantastic resource, you can search by player and it will tell you every event they've played that's eligible for ranking points. Here's what I figured out:

- Pieters played 5 non-LIV events in 2024 and 2 earlier this year (DPWT and Asian Tour). While the PGA Tour has banned LIV golfers, the DPWT has a loophole that allows them to play (I think they lost a court case or something). Case in point is Tyrell Hatton, who won in Dubai and is currently the highest-ranked LIV player at #8.

- Feags has no status. He only played one KFT event in 2024, probably through exemption. Not sure what he's up to but probably putting in the work.

- Noah Gillard is the only name I could find eligible for PGA Tour Americas (the new latin/canadian tour, starts in March). Kuhl and Hunt failed to retain their status, as did Crawford and Meyer on the KFT. There is a spring qualifier for the PGA Tour Americas, hopefully a few make it in.

- I expect to see Jackson Buchanan on the KFT once he graduates. He is currently 6th among seniors in the PGA U rankings - needs to hold top 10.
 
#222      
FlyNavy
Aldrich Potgieter, the leader, is looking to join elite company by notching his first Tour win at age 20 (Woods, McIlroy and Michelson among this group, plus Spieth who won at 19). It will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure.

That being said, Brian is in a great spot if he plays as steady as he has. The leaderboard is fairly thin - 3rd is two strokes back, 4th is four strokes back. As long as he can avoid big mistakes he should have a shot to win tomorrow.
 
#223      
WWWWRocU
Again, threesomes today with Campbell paired with the same partners as yesterday and the tee time is at 12:47 PM EST.
IMHO, this Aldrich kid looks like the second coming of Jack Nicklaus, all the way down to his pudgeyness.

In addition, our ladies tip it off against the JuJu Wonders today at 4PM EST.
After last night, please try and enjoy!!
 
#224      
2X2L
Go Brian! It's fine with me if you shoot a lot of threes.

Go Illini women!
 
#225      
2X2L
WWWWRocU said:
Again, threesomes today with Campbell paired with the same partners as yesterday and the tee time is at 12:47 PM EST.
IMHO, this Aldrich kid looks like the second coming of Jack Nicklaus, all the way down to his pudgeyness.

In addition, our ladies tip it off against the JuJu Wonders today at 4PM EST.
After last night, please try and enjoy!!
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Let's not go overboard with this Nicklaus thing. Potgieter is pudgy, similar to young Jack. And boy, can he drive the ball a long way just like Jack. Similarity ends right there. Best to Aldrich.

Go Brian.
 
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